Most of the early attention in the Big 12 has been focused on the Texas Longhorns, but fellow South teams Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor have been making headlines lately for different reasons. The Sooners hosted an impressive group of 2008 recruits this week, OSU has gotten red hot with four commitments in the last 10 days and Baylor is riding high after landing talented quarterback G.J. Kinne.

Riding the wave of the commitment from three-star quarterback G.J. Kinne, the Bears could be headed towards another rush of commitments in the coming weeks. Three-star offensive tackle John Jones may join his high school teammates Romie Blaylock and Chris Francis with a pledge soon. Sunday looks to be the day for not only Jones, but for Billy Chavis. The standout athlete says that after his visit to Waco on Sunday, he's going to probably be making a decision. Keller, Texas punter Derek Epperson followed Kinne by becoming the No. 18 commitment for Baylor. The standout special teams member may not be the most highly rated prospect in the class, but is a big pickup for the Bears. The class may be coming to a close very shortly in the coming months if they keep the momentum going.

The Buffs have always made California a big priority and it will continue to be the case for new coach Dan Hawkins. One of the Buffs top California targets appears to be cornerback Anthony Wright of Compton, Calif. The 6-foot, 180-pound top 100 player in California really is high on CU. "I'm starting to like Colorado University a lot," Wright said. "I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling them right now. I want to take a trip there and talk to them in person before doing anything but they're recruiting me the hardest and I like what I've heard so far. After Colorado, I like Baylor, San Diego State and Nebraska."

Dan McCarney has a great tradition of finding guys that might be a little under the radar and turning them into solid players. He's hoping magic strikes again with Des Moines Roosevelt linebacker Fabian Brown. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder is a gifted athlete that's not even close to scratching his true potential. Brown was not a widely known prospect prior to his appearance at the ISU summer camp. Brown spent one day at Iowa State's camps and made the most of it, showing in his work at both linebacker and defensive end that he is a Big 12 caliber player.

The Jayhawks already have one four-star commitment in tight end Christian Ballard, but KU could get good news soon from the No. 2 player in Kansas and fellow four-star player Blake Lawrence. The star outside linebacker admittedly is down to two teams - KU and Nebraska - and a decision could come here in the near future. Logic says this is the Jayhawks' race to lose, since his brother is at KU and the Hawks have been recruiting him for almost two years now and NU just offered a few weeks back. Still it's going to be a tough decision, and KU fans are hoping it's one that brings them good news.

After a huge flurry early on in the recruiting process, things have quieted down in Manhattan. The Wildcats have 17 known commitments, including pledges from one four-star player and five three-star prospects. That four-star player Lamark Brown is still a soft commitment, but he has come around more on the Wildcats after visiting Manhattan this summer for camp. "K-State was the one place I've wanted to go to since I was in my freshman year," he said. "After talking to the coaches and spending a lot of time with them at the camp, I feel like I can really do some good there."

Tiger fans were obviously disappointed when hometown star Logan Gray opted to head to the SEC and play for Georgia, but the good news is that the state's top player Michael Keck continues to list the Tigers near the top of his list. Keck recently took in unofficial visits to Arkansas, Alabama and Missouri. He goes this week to Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern and is also hoping to take an official visit to Colorado early in the season. Make no mistake, though, the Tigers are in good shape here. "Every time he talks to Missouri, he comes away more impressed every time," Harrisonville coach Frank Bouchard said.

There may be big decisions around the corner for Nebraska's recruiting class with four-star linebacker Blake Lawrence being the most probable of the several set to decide. The Huskers also continue to wait on the likes of Brandon Herron who said in a recent update this month that he is a "Cornhusker" and it's "just a matter of time before I tell the whole world." Quarterback Patrick Witt apparently is getting busy with cornerback Anthony Blue in trying to recruit Lone Star prospects to Nebraska. Witt says that receivers like Terrance Toliver and James Kirkendoll are ones he plans to call. Both will be up hill battles for NU but having Witt selling the program can't hurt. Tight end commit Ian Harris made news this week when word got out that he'll still take visits. Oklahoma State is a likely destination.

With OU short only numbers for 2007, the Sooners have continued to focus hard on the class of 2008. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Sooners played host to several of Texas' top 2008 prospects for unofficial visits. On campus were Justin Johnson of Gilmer, Texas, J.B. Shugarts of Klein, Texas, and Stephen Good of Paris, Texas. All three are early candidates for top 10 status in the state for next year. For Good it will be his second trip to Norman after being up for the camp. It was Shugarts first trip to Norman and first impressions will be important for the Sooner coaches in the recruitment of a player who already holds verbal offers from national powers like Michigan, Miami, LSU, and Florida.

OSU has been on a roll lately, snagging four commitments in the last ten days. One of the bigger ones came from Silsbee, Texas, three-star defensive tackle Ahmad Jones. Jones is a 6-3, 317-pound space eater that was heavily recruited and a member of the Texas top 100 (No. 64). The other pledges were from Damien Davis, Marcus Richardson and Jamie Blatnick. All of them are two star players, but each one seemingly are good fits for the Cowboys and what they want to accomplish. Like Jones, Blatnick,an impressive strongside defensive end, blew up at the College Station NIKE Camp.

The big recruiting news with the Longhorns has been the recent change in direction with the remaining spots on the commitment list. Four-star defensive end Richetti Jones and Texas appear to be moving away from one another and that has opened up a spot for four-star safety Christian Scott. Scott will be in Austin on July 30 for a visit. There is a strong possibility that the talented DB could turn down several scholarship offers for Texas if things go as planned later this month. As far as more defensive ends are concerned, the most likely candidates appear to be Dallas sleeper Sam Acho and rising Central Texas prospect Brandon Joiner. Neither has had much contact with the Texas staff, but both are playing wait-and-see for now. Five-star defensive tackle Joseph Barksdale, along with Scott, are the biggest targets to this point.

Camp definitely came with its share of storylines. Prospects closing in on an offer include North Garland linebacker Jermaine Love and Cy Falls defensive tackle Jerrod Black. Love may not be ready to decide yet, but Black could be a different story. He told Rivals.com that he "might commit" and that A&M isn't "too far away from my house." Black, who is a bit of a sleeper, may be rising up the charts in the rankings. Jarvis Jones, Von Miller, Frank Avery, and California defensive end Michael Ebbit also camped this past weekend. A&M seems to be sitting in good position with each one. Ebbit is deciding whether or not to take a trip to Miami before a decision. Miller and Jones may be taking some more visits before pulling the trigger, but the bond with the coaches seems to be getting stronger.

The Red Raiders picked up their fifth Texas commitment early this week with cornerback Taylor Charbonnet jumping on board to join his brother in Lubbock. The 5-foot-9, 164-pounder didn't surprise many with his decision, but Charbonnet said that he was truly considering all teams before his commitment. What he lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and football sense. Tech continues to sit pretty with arguably one of their top targets in Oklahoma athlete Gerald Jones. Along with Oklahoma State, the Red Raiders probably sit in the lead position. Jones says Lubbock will be a definite visit before committing. Tech also may be in the early lead for 2008 quarterback Seth Doege. Doege attended a Tech camp and seems to hold the Red Raiders in high regard.